Arise Lord Vader
by Guynamedsam123
Summary: Taking place eight years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Ben Kenobi, unable to continue to sit idle, becomes involved with the fledgling Rebel Alliance. Meanwhile, Vader, now in his prime has succeeded in extinguishing the light of the Jedi, and now turns his attention to the newly formed rebellion. The two are now set on a titanic collision course.
1. Arise Lord Vader

"It's over Anakin, I have the high ground!". Obi wan exclaimed as he landed on the meter tall mound of volcanic soot and dried magma. He stood in a high crouch, panting hard. He was sweating profusely, and each breath of the searing hot air of Mustafar sent shocks of pain into his chest. All he wanted was for this to be over. To wake up in his room at the temple, and find that this was all nothing more than a bad dream. He would wake up and see his apprentice, and brother Anakin, his friends at the temple.

"You underestimate my power." A dark voice interrupted his thoughts. Obi wan fought back a wave of emotional pain as he looked down the bank to his former apprentice. Anakin stood on the small metal platform that he had leaped from just a moment earlier. Suspended above the molten rock, Anakin used the force to guide his vessel closer to the bank where Obi wan had jumped too. Standing straight, his pale blue lightsaber, held ignited in his robotic right hand.

His eyes burned with the yellow fire of the dark side, his voice dripping with pure hatred. It was a darkness that Obi wan had never even suspected lived within his apprentice. There were times when Anakin showed aggression, anger, even hate, namely for Dooku after severing his arm. Never however had Obi wan witnessed such rage, and vindictiveness from his friend. Obi wan knew Anakin. He knew the next move that would be made.

"Don't try it." He said, with genuine concern.

With a roar Anakin leapt from the platform, leaving to be engulfed in liquid fire as he summersaulted through the air towards his former master. Intending to flip over his master, and cut him in half the same way Darth Maul had been, Anakin twisted in air. His moment of triumph was at hand, at last the Jedi would pay for their betrayal of the republic. He would rush to the ship, Padme would be fine. He would convince her of the righteousness of his cause, and together, they would rule the galaxy. They would raise their child, and start a new Jedi order.

Vader's eyes snapped open. He was alone, floating in his bacta tank. His two shadow guards watching over him diligently, as was their duty. They made no sound however, nor did they move from their locations. They did naught but stand there peering into the nothingness in front of them. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of his inner respirator, attached to his face directly. A sense of grief and loss, seemed to overwhelm him. A sudden anguish that he could not control. Not for the things he had done, but for what he had lost in the process.

Vader writhed in his tank, allowing the sadness and loss to carry him away on their black waves of agony. All of it feeding into his power, sharpening the edges of his hatred, and strengthening his connection to the darkness. Vader's eyes opened again, and this time, peered through more than just the bacta. His eyes settled on the river of molten rock that his castle had been constructed next to. His gaze settled finally on a particular section of the bank, one with a meter high mound of rock and ash.

Black hate swelled in Vader's chest. Unabated by the Jedi restrictions that had so long held it at bay, it grew into a violent maelstrom of rage, spite and animosity. Such was the manifestation of his hate in the force, that his power in it fell upon the whole room like a shroud, causing his two force sensitive shadow guard to shift uneasily.

All of Vader's hate compressed, shrinking in volume, but losing none of its mass. It's potency increasing with every passing moment, cracks began to web their way across the glass of his tank. His hatred had focused now into a single red hot word, that summarily described rage.

Kenobi.


	2. A matter of Authority

The imperial council chambers went silent for the first time since the officers had gotten there. The sound of Vader's mechanized breathing tended to have that affect. As they inspected their comrades around the room, they noticed several commonalities. Faces turned suddenly pale, brows beaded with seemingly unwarranted sweat. The Dark Lords strict expectations regarding job performance clearly preceded him, and with good reason.

It had not always been this way however. In the early days of the Galactic empire, several fool hardy, and now departed, imperial officers had attempted to stand up to the imposing enforcer. Vader had at first cautioned them about their apparent insubordination, however this only made the imperial officers more staunch in their resistance to his authority. The fiasco was led by an admiral Xeric, who would be remembered long after his death as a marvelous example of what not to do in Lord Vader's presence.

The officers had been present in the clone wars, giving orders to their clones and helping the Jedi, who had not yet been exposed as the traitors they were. After the war was over, order 66 had been completed, they had expected to be hailed as hero's and have high authority in the imperial fleet. They were already planning to grant ranks and titles to their families and friends in celebration of the new found peace. The arrival of Darth Vader derailed these dreams. Seemingly from nowhere, this mysterious figure had come. Tall and imposing, lord Vader had begun barking orders at admirals and grunts alike, much to the chagrin of admiral Xeric.

The whole situation came to head when the Emperor commanded his military leaders, and Darth Vader, to work out their own differences, as he refused to become involved himself. They had met in a council room much like the one that they all sat in now, and had been awaiting the arrival of lord Vader, just as their successors did now. Lord Vader had made them wait. This had been, no doubt, an attempt to establish himself as the most authoritative of the council, as the meeting could not begin until he arrived. This made him the most important person, as soon as he had entered the room. Admiral Xeric had greeted the imperial enforcer, with a string of curses and taunts.

They had found out later, what had triggered the slaughter ,was admiral Xeric accusing lord Vader of being a Jedi. According to the memory of C4-93, the protocol droid overseeing refreshments of the meeting, lord Vader had not taken well to this. Without a word, he had ignited his crimson lightsaber, and began cutting down the imperial officers. Screams for mercy and pardon went ignored, as the Dark Lord showed neither mercy nor discrimination in the distribution of his brutality. They found their bodies hacked ,mangled, and charred from the scorching heat lord Vader's lightsaber. The droid had been the only survivor, left alive perhaps only to tell the remaining officers of what he had done.

So it was no great surprise, when the next generation of military commanders had a great deal more respect of lord Vader. The hubris of the high officers had been tempered with fear, as was the way of the Sith. Now where lord Vader tread, fear clung to him as though it were a shroud. This constant aura of dread, preceded him as he entered every room, and trailed behind him when he exited. Lord Vader had established his authority, much to the horror of the imperial officers, and to the amusement of Palatine.

None at the meeting were as terrified however, as captain Byss, who had only been called to the meeting by the will of lord Vader himself. Byss knew perfectly well why this was of course, they all knew it. An upstart group of malcontents, calling themselves the Rebel Alliance, had recently attacked an imperial post on the planet of Dromund Kaas, and imperial forces had been routed. Of course, there was nothing on Dromund Kaas. The station had been set up during the clone wars by the Republic, as a communications relay, since the old ones had been taken by the Separatists. This made its existence, now that the galaxy had been reunited, effectively meaningless. It was a lazy, easy, post captain Byss had gained only through nepotism.

The rebels had attacked, only to send a message. This message had been received in full. The space waves were alive with the news of his failure. All the galaxy was talking about how a group of terrorists had overpowered a garrison of imperial soldiers, and were now talking about the perceived weakness of the empire. Byss had no reason to believe that an attack was imminent, and so didn't bother to keep his men in fighting shape. His failure even reached the ears of the emperor himself, who had appointed Vader to hold a meeting to deal with this apparent uprising.

The automatic door to the council chamber opened with a sharp *snick* sound, and the towering frame of Vader came into view. His form was jet black, save for the metal discs on his belt, as well as the buttons on his control panel. The only other exceptions were the red lenses of his mask. Small crimson alcoves that shielded the Dark Lord's emotions from those present, and bored into those unfortunate enough to find themselves in his gaze.

"Lord Vader," one of the older officers spoke up, " We have compiled a complete list of everything we know of this uprising, to be looked over at your leisure." He said, extending a holopad to the Dark Lord from across the table.

Vader skirted to the other side of the table, without so much as looking in the veteran officers direction. Lord Vader glided heavily forward, passing by all those who attempted to converse with him until he came to stop in front of captain Byss. Byss immediately rose to his feet, not daring to sit in the imperial enforcers presence.

"Captain, I expect you are fully aware as to why I have called you here." Vader's deep voice boomed.

"Y-yes, my lord." He stated, staring down at lord Vader's boots, as if they held the greatest of the galaxies mysteries.

"Then explain yourself." Vader demanded, his voice giving no clue as to his intentions.

"Lord Vader, we were taken by surprise. We had no reason to believe that any would dare defy the emperor, much less target Dromund Kaas of all-"

"What you believe does not concern me captain. Your incompetence has left a stain on the reputation of the imperial armed forces, one you will devote the rest of your days to removing. Your next incursion shall be your last. Have I made myself clear?" Vader interrupted.

"Y-yes. Of course my lord." Byss stammered bowing low. Relief washed over him, as he realized he was not going to be destroyed.

"Let us hope so, for your sake captain." Vader stated coldly, turning and walking to the front of the long rectangular table, where a seat had been prepared for him.

"As for the matters of this uprising, you will send an officer with these details to my quarters. I will deal with this matter personally." Vader declared, as he left the chamber. Leaving all its inhabitants to breath sighs of relief.


	3. Twin suns, and a deadly premonition

Kenobi woke with a start. Panting hard, he threw his legs over the side of his cot, and placed his head in his hands. Getting out of bed quickly, Kenobi washed the cold sweat from his body. He cringed as the heat of the water overwhelmed his senses momentarily. The awful heat of Tatooine had a bad habit of turning any water on the planet, naturally occurring or otherwise, into a scalding liquid hardly fit to wash in, let alone drink. Despite the heat of the water however, Kenobi trembled. It was not the bitter cold of the desert nights that caused him to shiver. Dawning his robes, and then his cloak, before quickly leaving his small hut.

Kenobi lifted a hand to shield his eyes, as the light from the planets twin suns rebounded off of the sands, making it nearly impossible to see without some source of shade. Pulling his hood over his head, Kenobi began what had become a daily ritual. Every morning he would plod across the miles of the Jundland wastes, until he reached the Lars moisture farm. To be more precise, until he reached the rocky cliff face overlooking the Lars moisture farm. The last time he had ventured any further he had been greeted by Owen Lars, blaster in hand. Owen had made it all to clear that he did not want the former Jedi master having an influence on his nephew, this of course included Jedi training. So Kenobi stood on the cliff, as he did everyday, and closed his eyes. Reaching out with the force, he felt for the boy, and upon finding him, made sure that he was in good health. When he was satisfied that the boy was safe, he broke the connection.

It had been eight years. Eight years since he had come to this miserable dust trap of a planet. Eight years since the boy was born, and had begun to grow. Eight years since the fall of democracy, and the rise of tyranny. Eight years since the Jedi had been eradicated. It had been eight years since Anakin Skywalker was murdered at the hands of his new Sith persona, Darth Vader. A shiver ran unchecked up Kenobi's spine at the mere remembrance of that name. The catastrophe of that day had emitted a tremor in the force, unlike any he had ever felt. The shroud that had clouded the vision of the Jedi, since he was but a padawan, had finally fallen. In its absence the true state of the Force had been revealed, and the surviving Jedi saw for the first time, just how much damage the Sith had done. Sadness ran unchecked in his mind, and the Jedi master tried for several moments to clear his mind of such emotions.

Having reigned in his emotions, Kenobi turned and began the long trek back to his hut. As he walked his dream flashed unbidden through his mind once again. In the dream he had seen the planet Alderaan, being orbited by a black moon. For a while all was silent, and the beauty of Alderaan was made the main spectacle of his dream, doing nothing, aside from rotating slowly in the blackness. But then something changed, a sense of impending doom began to build in the air, as if some abhorrent calamity lay just out of sight. The pressure began to build faster, increasing in scope and horror until it seemed reality itself would shatter from the tension alone. The black moon began to glow an ominous green, as the peacefully serenity that had previously prevailed was now completely drowned out by the relentless tempo of panic. It were as if the Force itself was wailing in pain, railing against whatever dark power was preparing to inflict its horror upon the galaxy. A sudden flash of green blinded him, and the peaceful looking planet shattered like glass. Shards of the planet's crust flew past him and sped off into space, until he was left in utter darkness. Though there was no silence in the darkness. It were as if millions of voices had cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. Kenobi's brow furrowed, and he continued on to the hut.

it was noon when Kenobi finally stumbled into his small home. The twin suns were high in the sky and the scorching heat reflected by the sands was enough to cook a rancor alive. Kenobi's head pounded and all he seemed to want was a cold glass of water. Laying on his cot, he mused for moment as to whether or not he could cool it with the Force.

"That would be a gross misuse of it's power, my apprentice." A familiar chastising voice said. Kenobi knew this voice well. He had heard it on many an occasion during his apprenticeship. Jinn's spirit had not called to Kenobi for some time. Not since he had finished his instruction, on how to join his master in immortality.

"I didn't say I was going to do it." Kenobi said aloud. "Besides it would be much easier to simply choke the stuff down." He said, getting up and wandering to the small receptacle where his water was held. scooping the water up in his hands, he took quick slow sips, so as not to actually taste the water. When his thirst was finally quenched, he went back to his cot, and sat down heavily.

"Obi Wan." Jinn's voice came again, this time with less judgment and more concern.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He asked sincerely. Truth be told, he was quite happy to speak with his master. The long days of wandering, sparring with mock opponents, and doing nothing but dwell on past mistakes, were beginning to take their toll on Kenobi. Lines began to appear on his face, and streaks of silver ran through his mahogany hair. He looked as if he were middle aged. This planet was eating him alive.

"Tell me about your dream, my friend." Jinn's comforting voice implored. Kenobi sighed, placing his head into his now calloused hands, he recited the story for his master. He placed special emphasis on the pressure that had seemingly built up during dream. When he finally finished, he sat quietly, staring off into empty space.

"Master?" Kenobi asked the invisible entity.

"You have experienced a vision of what is to come." Jinn replied slowly, sadness hanging in his voice. Kenobi's brow furrowed.

"Master, with all due respect, there is no power in the galaxy great enough to destroy an entire planet. Not in the manner that the black moon did." He stated incredulously.

"Not yet." his master retorted. "But it falls to you to stop these events from transpiring, Obi Wan." Jinn answered calmly.

"You mean leave?" Kenobi stood to his feet and walked to the other side of his small shack. "Master, I cannot simply leave. I must watch the boy, it is my duty."

"i will watch over the boy. Should anything happen I will call out to you." His old mentor answered back, a hard edge creeping into his voice.

"And how will that help him when I am halfway across the galaxy?" Kenobi was getting annoyed. Why would his master insist that he leave now? Before the boy could even fend for himself? Before he was capable of fulfilling his destiny as the chosen one?

"Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one." Jinn replied, once more reading his former padawan's thoughts.

"Anakin is dead." Kenobi retorted, sorrow and hurt entering his voice. "There is no light left in him."

"you cannot know that." Jinn stated sympathetically, wanting with all that he was to comfort his old friend. "Anakin loved Padme above all else. Perhaps this boy, being a part of her, will revive some part of the man he once was."

"Anakin is dead." Kenobi said again, his shame radiating through the force. Shame for his failure. Had he only been a better master. Had he only tried harder to instill in Anakin the truth of the Jedi code. Perhaps none of this would now be happening. He stood in silence for a long time. Neither he nor Jinn breaking the silence.

"It is up to you, my friend. Go with them. i will look after the boy. Do not worry, I am not as powerless as you may think." Jinn reiterated.

"Thats tough talk coming from a disembodied voice." Kenobi laughed. "But master, what do you mean go with the-"

Suddenly he was thrown to the floor as a massive explosion shook everything in his house. Pulling himself up Kenobi held his head, dizzy from the shockwave. Sensing a large number of people coming towards his hut, Kenobi reached out his right hand and summoned his lightsaber to his hand. Activating it, just as the door to his hut was knocked down. A group of soldiers, dressed in out of place green camouflage, and wielding out of date blasters barged in. They all leveled their blasters at him, and ordered him not to move. Kenobi's eyes cut quickly around the room, attempting to find the words to say he eventually settled on.

"Hello there."


End file.
